Pipeline fire victim dies

An electrician, who was burnt in Thursday night’s fire on a Titas Gas transmission line, has died in the burn unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH).

Anwar Hossain, 38, died around 5:30am Friday, Saiful Islam, a sub-inspector with the Mawna Highway Police Station, told bdnews24.com.

Anwar used to work in Mita Textiles, a factory in Masterbari Bazar in Sreepur Upazila, where the accident took place.

He also used to work part-time at Beauty Pharmacy, one of the shops that were burnt down in the fire.

A supply line of the Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Limited beside the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway in Gazipur’s Sreepur caught fire after an excavator machine deployed in the highway’s widening work ruptured it, police said.

Fire-fighting units from Gazipur and Sreepur doused the flames around 8:30pm.

The flames leaped 20 to 30 feet damaging several shops in the nearby Chhapra Masjid Hawkers Market and halting the traffic.

Vehicles on the busy highway began moving again around 8:55pm after nearly two-hour halt.

The excavation was part of the construction works going on to turn the existing two- lane Dhaka-Mymensingh highway into four lanes in a bid to ease the pressure of vehicles.

Mawna Al Hera Hospital Director Abul Hossain said Beauty Pharmacy owner Mostafa Zaman and another trader Nayan was also injured in the fire.

Mostafa has suffered burns to 80 percent of his body while Nayan suffered 40 percent burns.

They were admitted along with Anwar to the DMCH burn unit at night.

Sima, 24, a garments worker, and her husband Nasir Uddin, 31, who were also injured in the fire, were admitted to the Sreepur Upazila Health Complex.

Following the news of Anwar’s death, locals in Masterbari blocked the Dhaka – Mymensingh Highway in protest.

Sreepur Police Station Officer-in-Charge Mohsinul Kadir said the protesters vandalised at least 10 vehicles on the highway.

Alak Barua, the head of Infratech Construction, which is carrying out the highway expansion work, assured the protesters to give compensation to the families of the victims and the shop owners. The blockade was withdrawn around 9am.

Station Officer of Sreepur Fire Station Tosharaf Hossain said at least 60 shops and a mosque were gutted in the fire. As per initial assessment the damages were worth at least Tk 2 million, he said.